Brooklands response

First, the piece was one of the ‘Brief Chat’ series and never purported to be a definitive history of Brooklands Museum. What was written was the result, literally, of a brief chat with John.

I went back to him to query the point over the motorcycle volunteers. It was never John’s intention to dismiss the tremendous efforts of those who had managed to achieve so much in the creation of the museum and regrets that some readers seem to have taken it that way.

John confirms that when he made his initial visit, there appeared to be no regular activity in the motorcycle area of the museum, a view confirmed by those in charge of Brooklands at the time. This, it transpired, was due to a number of reasons, but getting the local VMCC section involved again, with new energy and leadership has transformed bikes, museum and an expanded volunteer force.

Meanwhile, the response to the article has brought forward a number of names, anecdotes and some colourful history and, editor willing, I hope to put together a feature on the earlier days of the Brooklands’ resurrection.